Chapter 230 Never pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger
"Even the Warriors can lose. Wang Zelin seriously lacks the responsibility of a leader. It can be seen that LaMarcus is the real leg of the Trail Blazers!" - "ESPN"
"The recent dramatic fluctuations in the Blazers' performance indicate that the playoffs will be unsettled..." - "Bleachers"
"I have said before that that Eastern boy is not as strong as he looks." - Kamara, a well-known basketball commentator.
"We have been on the right path, but there are inevitably some bumps in the process!" - "Portland Weekly"
Except for the local media, most media turned their backs and accused the Blazers of not losing this game. The arrow pointed at the Blazers' super rookie Wang Zelin.
Wang Zelin doesn't care about the comments from the outside world, because he knows that these media people are just a group of female cousins, and he should let them go as they should.
As long as you don’t take the initiative to provoke yourself!
As a professional basketball player with aspirations, the most important energy should be focused on training and competition.
After all, at this stage, Wang Zelin only has time to prepare for the game and during the game. The intrigues and dirty things from the outside can be handled by his agent Zhou Yang and his public relations. If these things cannot be handled, won't his money be taken care of?
Paid in vain.
This is the benefit of sports competition. Everything depends on strength. As long as you perform well, who has time to care about what you eat and stuffed egg cakes...
Taking Zhu Ba as an example, he smoked, drank, and even had his hair permed. As a result, there were voices of doubt from outside the court, but they were only minimal and could not achieve much success.
…
April 2, 2013 ~ Tuesday.
The Trail Blazers have begun playing games in April, indicating that the countdown to the regular season is getting closer.
The opponent is an old acquaintance, the Utah Jazz, who are also in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.
This game is an away game, and Wang Zelin accompanied the team to the away arena for pre-game training in the morning.
The crazy victory in the first half of this season has gradually created the momentum of a strong team within the Blazers. In the eyes of all members, there are less than five worthy opponents in the Western Conference, and there is only one opponent in the Eastern Conference that can pose a serious threat to them.
Miami Heat.
As you become more confident, side effects are inevitable.
Pride and complacency... have come to the door a long time ago.
It was okay before, victory could suppress all other voices...but now.
Whether it's because of the team's strategy or other reasons, the Trail Blazers have indeed been losing recently.
Take the last game against the Warriors as an example. Wang Zelin and his teammates wanted to win and took action... but to their surprise, the team lost.
Therefore, the atmosphere within the Trail Blazers team has become a bit depressing now.
It's not just as simple as losing to the Warriors, the key point is that the team's momentum as a strong team that was just established seems to be falling apart.
The coaching staff only recently discovered this, and they regret it very much.
You shouldn’t have deliberately lost because of “picking your opponent” before, which resulted in the current bad consequences.
Ultimately, the Blazers are still too young.
The reason why the Spurs dare to take rest breaks at all times is that the backbone "GDP" combination of the Spurs has been working together for ten years. As long as three people don't get into trouble at the same time, the Spurs can't be in chaos.
But the pioneers are different.
There are many young players, which often means there are many variables. Their stability is far less than that of the Spurs. If they play more downwind balls, they will naturally be able to quickly develop the temperament of a strong team.
In the same way, hitting too many balls against the wind will quickly frustrate their edge.
The next April schedule is particularly important for the Trail Blazers. They need to win to re-establish their strong team temperament. They really can't lose anymore.
At the same time, it is also very difficult, because the opponents behind us are all strong teams at the playoff level, and none of them are easy to beat, and every game is a tough battle.
Theoretically speaking, in addition to the first-tier Thunder, which can steadily beat the Trail Blazers, the second-tier Clippers, Grizzlies, and Nuggets are all close to each other. If the remaining five teams want to win, they
There is a certain degree of certainty.
But who can say for sure about the NBA?
Terry Stotts feels that he is under a lot of pressure. He was so motivated at the beginning of the season. If he only gets 52 or three wins in the end, he will really live up to the expectations of the fans.
"It would be great if LaMarcus could come back."
Terry Stotts, who hadn't slept all night, looked at Wang Zelin and others who were practicing tactics on the field, and scratched his head helplessly.
In his plan, the team should have all members available for the April schedule, otherwise it would be difficult to face a playoff-level opponent back-to-back... But Aldridge suddenly got injured.
It didn't disrupt his overall plan, but considering that the team's energy and energy were now weakening, and thinking that the team was missing a powerful player who averaged 20 points per game, his mood was inevitably a little more impetuous...
It was smashed!
I never thought that if I pretended to be a pig and ate the tiger, I might actually become a pig in the end.
…
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Bang!"
In the Energy Solutions Arena, the auditorium is crowded with people. Players from the two teams are warming up on the court. The beautiful notes produced by the friction between the basketball and the net slowly reduce the pressure and tension in the players' hearts.
Unlike the Losing Trail Blazers, the Jazz had just won four games in a row, with 41 wins and 30 losses, half a game behind the Lakers, and temporarily ranked tenth in the Western Conference.
This position is undoubtedly awkward.
If you want to show off, there aren't many games left.
It seems too late to grab a ticket for the playoffs.
After struggling for several days with no results, Jazz coach Tyronn Cobin said directly to the players: "Just watch and play!"
It just so happened that Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap were also unwilling to be left alone, and showed an attitude of eagerness to face the Blazers who came to challenge.
Here are the pioneers.
In the tactical meeting before the game, the coach went out of his way and made a dead order to win the game before the game. The players were confused for a while, but everyone soon became excited.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Acting every day, you will be tired of acting already, we want to win!
After practicing two sets of hooks and layups, it's almost time.
The attention of today's game was average, the state was ups and downs and the entertainment was low in Utah, so it was not broadcast live across the United States.
In addition, we are currently in a critical period of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. Starting in mid-March, the Sweet 16 will be released one after another, and now we are in the Top 8.
Fans who know a little bit about it all know that from the beginning of March Madness to mid-to-late April, there was only one main theme in the American basketball world, and that was the NCAA.
Not to mention the NCAA Finals, even in some extremely popular games, such as games between NCAA superstar players, the NBA has to make concessions.
During this period, which university's players scored so many points, which university's players took so many rebounds... all made headlines.
In the end, this game, which was originally a moderately focused game, became even more dim.
Of course, reporters from Portland and China will never leave, and Wang Zelin is here.
…
At 6:00 p.m., the two teams finished their warm-up and the players took the field.
Jazz: The first person to appear was countless old acquaintances of Chinese fans, everyone followed, followed by Randy Foye, Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson.
Teren Kebin is full of energy today. He will definitely win the first game in April, and he will have good luck next time.
Anyway, you can lose even the Warriors, so why not lose another game!
For the Trail Blazers, the lineup is as follows:
Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Mike Roberts and Wang Zelin.
The defense of this lineup is actually better than the defense of the original lineup. After all, when Aldridge wants to defend, he can definitely do a good job defensively.
But the problem is, unlike Mike Roberts, this guy mainly relies on defense to maximize his value only on offense.
"Mike, you are responsible for Paul Millsap, and leave Al Jefferson to me. As long as the Jazz's inside is locked up, there won't be much of a problem on the outside."
Since Coach Terry has given a fatal order to win, Wang Zelin naturally has to cheer up.
Anyway, the opponent has already lost to them three times this season, so why not lose again!
With this idea in mind, both sides started fighting.
Wang Zelin won the jump ball easily, and the Jazz seemed to be well prepared and positioned themselves well in advance.
The Trail Blazers attacked, and Lillard advanced to the top arc with the ball.
After Deron Williams left the Jazz, the Jazz changed several point guards, but none of them worked. The current point guard is Mo Buchuan who was just traded from the Clippers ~ Mo Williams.
This guy, like Lillard, is different from traditional point guards in that his personal offense is stronger than organization, and his defense is average.
With continuous early changes of direction, Lillard shook off Mo Williams and rushed towards the paint area.
Tyrone Corbin shook his head. He had known this would happen and had already told other players to pay attention to defense before the game.
One step into the free throw line, Hayward came up and stretched out his right arm to block Lillard.
Hayward, the ninth pick in the first round of 2010, is 2.01 meters tall and weighs 104 kilograms. He has great talent and is the main target of the Jazz management.
A big white man appeared in front of him. Lillard did not rush, stabilized the rhythm, and shot a mid-range emergency stop.
"Duang!"
There was the sound of iron hitting, and Lillard had a bad start.
but……
"Bang!"
Wang Zelin shouted loudly and succeeded in making up the dunk.
The Blazers opened the scoring.
"Shh!"
They were bombarded right away. How could the Jazz fans endure it? The Energy Arena booed.
"Al, give me one more!"
The fans focused on Al Jefferson and shouted loudly.
"Al, feel the voices around you. You are not good at being the boss. The fans have changed their camps."
It seems that in the backcourt, Wang Zelin said to Al Jefferson on the side.
"Boy, these cheers are for me, you are so shameless!" Al Jackson said angrily.
"But it was obviously me who scored the goal. Look, the scoreboard shows that you scored 0. They were celebrating for me."
Seeing Al Jefferson getting angry, Wang Zelin laughed proudly.
"Just wait for me!"
Al Jefferson roared and waited for his teammates to get into position.
Jazz offense.
Mo Williams had a strong desire to attack. He pretended not to see Al Jefferson asking for the ball. He reached out unceremoniously for the pick-and-roll, then broke into the paint and made a sudden jump shot.
Same trick, Mo Williams scored.
2:2!
"I told you that you, the boss, are not very good at being the boss. Now do you believe me?" Wang Zelin refused.
This time Al Jefferson didn't say anything and returned to defense with a dark face.
em...
No, he has a black face to begin with.
Trail Blazers offense.
Mike Roberts offered to serve as a screen, leading Paul Millsap in and out of the paint, consuming the latter's energy.
Paul Millsap understood this was a conspiracy and smiled bitterly, but he could only follow it.
At this time, Wang Zelin stood in the low post and asked for the ball, and Lillard immediately lobbed in.
The moment he caught the ball, Wang Zelin immediately turned around, got rid of Al Jefferson, who was about to make a small move, and entered the paint area.
Paul Millsap made a turnaround, got rid of Mike Roberts, and came over from the other side.
After careful study, he clearly understood the characteristics of the opponent's No. 36, including unmatched strength, soft touch, and rich low-post offensive skills... I really don't know how this freak has so many things at the same time.
It’s so inconsistent!
He knows better that as long as No. 36 completes the turning movement and gets rid of the defender, there will be almost no defense except for double-teaming.
But... Paul Millsap looked at Wang Zelin getting closer and closer, and his mood became uneasy.
Why do I suddenly feel that the double team is not stable?
"careful!"
Mike Roberts reminded loudly.
As for Wang Zelin.
Of course he saw Paul Millsap, with an indifferent smile, he took another step, took off, held the ball in his right arm, raised it high, and smashed it fiercely towards the basket.
The arrow is on the string and must be fired!
At the same time, Paul Millsap ignored the uneasiness in his heart and took off on the left side of the basket, stretched out his right hand and covered the basketball.
This scene, whether it was the fans at the scene or the Chinese and American spectators watching the game in front of the TV, were deeply attracted.
"roll!"
Wang Zelin saw Paul Millsap's hand getting closer and closer to him, and unknown anger welled up in his heart.
The next moment, Wang Zelin followed up with his left hand, put the ball together with both hands, pressed Paul Millsap and poured the ball into the basket.
The two bodies collided. Paul Millsap's height, strength, and overall quality were not as good as Wang Zelin's. No one knew what kind of courage he had in choosing to take off.
But it's just a matter of courage.
"Snapped!"
After the physical contact, Paul Millsap took the lead in flipping backwards in the air, landing with a bright shot, his knees weakened, and he landed directly on his butt.
At this time, Wang Zelin also landed, ignoring the angry looks of the Jazz players around him, and went straight back to the backcourt.
4:2, the Trail Blazers lead away from home.
The fans in the audience were stunned at first, but quickly realized what was happening on the field.
There was another round of boos.
"Paul, are you okay?"
Hayward and Al Jefferson quickly stepped forward to pull their teammates up.
"No, it's okay."
Paul Millsap looked frightened. After getting up, he stared blankly at the retreating figure of No. 36...
Just now he almost thought he was going to die.
If God could give him another chance, he would not go up again even if he died.